Juneteenth - our new federal holiday
President Biden signing the bill making Juneteenth a national holiday. Advocate Opal Lee is second from left. (White House photo)
I am thrilled that the end of slavery in our country will now be celebrated as a national holiday known as Juneteenth. June 19, 1865, is the day Union soldiers entering Galveston, Texas, told enslaved Black people that the Confederacy had actually surrendered more than two months earlier. Slavery had officially ended.
Apparently Galveston was so far away and isolated that enslaved Blacks also hadn’t heard about the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years earlier, and that many former slaves had joined the Union forces as free men.
Juneteenth has been celebrated in the Black community ever since, and it rightfully deserves to be celebrated as a national holiday now. I admit my surprise that the Congressional vote was so overwhelming and non-partisan (House vote 415 to 14, Senate vote unanimous) given the acrimony over the Black Lives Matter movement. But this was the right thing to do and it gives me hope for my country.
Ninety-four-year-old activist Opal Lee being applauded at the White House signing making Juneteenth a national holiday. (White House photo)
The Black community has been celebrating Juneteenth in various ways ever since 1865. Festivities include public celebrations with music, food, and commemorative speeches. In 1872 a group of Black businessmen and ministers in Houston purchased ten acres for this purpose and named the land Emancipation Park.
Texas named Juneteenth an official state holiday in 1979, and forty-nine other states now officially recognize the event in some form. A well-known activist who has campaigned for national recognition of Juneteenth is ninety-four-year-old Opal Lee from Texas.
In a wonderful coincidence, June is also African-American Music Appreciation Month. President Jimmy Carter, who celebrated performers and music of all genres with numerous cultural events during his time in office, declared June as Black Music Month in 1979. His proclamation was never drafted officially, so in 2000 Bill Clinton signed an official decree after the House passed a resolution.
Charlie Mingus being honored at a White House event. (Jimmy Carter Presidential Library)
On June 2, 2009, President Barack Obama, in recognition of the profound gift of African-American music and its impact upon the world, renamed the month in an official Presidential Proclamation—African-American Music Appreciation Month.
If you’re looking for a way to commemorate Juneteenth this year, you might consider a visit to Biddy Mason Memorial Park in Downtown Los Angeles. Biddy Mason and her children were brought to San Bernardino as slaves by Robert Smith in 1852. California was a free state at that time, and Smith wanted to relocate to Texas so he could sell Biddy and others. Biddy escaped with others to the Los Angeles area and her free status was recognized legally.
Though born into slavery and dehumanizing conditions, Biddy went on to become a major contributor to the economy and culture of Los Angeles. She served others as a midwife and nurse, grew her savings with land purchased between Spring St. and Broadway, shared her wealth with the needy through philanthropic efforts, organized a school for Black children, and was one of the original founders of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles.
Amanda Gorman speaking at Biddy Mason Memorial Park. (Photo courtesy Southern California Grantmakers)
The Biddy Mason Memorial Park is tucked in between Spring Street and Broadway, just across from Grand Central Market, and with access to the south entrance to the Bradbury building. A timeline of her life is stenciled into an eighty-foot concrete wall designed by artist Sheila Levrant de Bretterville. In 2018, inaugural poet Amanda Gorman participated in a celebration of Biddy’s 200th birthday.
You can bring your own refreshments to eat in the park; you can visit one of the many eateries in Grand Central Market across the street; or you can visit the Maccheroni Republic which features handmade pastas and outside dining.
Footnote: Biddy Mason was featured in my first post on this blog. Our new national holiday of Juneteenth is a wonderful reason to be mentioning her again.
This article first appeared in Carol Kearns’ blog, Morning Echo. It is republished with permission.